Chapter 1176: The End of the War

  Chapter 1153 The End of the War
Anything that comes into the hands of Parliament means trouble.

Everyone knew that after the disruption of the sea trade lines, Britain could no longer fight, but politics is never black and white.

A truce was fine with everyone. However how the truce was to be made was the big question.

Parliamentarians not only represent the people, but also the interest groups behind them. No vested interest group is willing to sacrifice its own interests unless it is absolutely necessary.

Moreover, parliamentarians are equally reluctant to take on the responsibility of surrendering, which would mean the end of their political lives.

Even if they really want to surrender, they will have to frame themselves in a death-defying spirit to prove that they are against surrender.

Everyone is a drama queen, and “noisy ……” becomes inevitable.

Parliament is noisy, folk make more noise. After all, those who can afford to let go are only a minority, and more people are still unable to face reality.

People are contradictory, on the one hand, want to stop the war, but on the other hand, unwilling to accept the cruel reality of “surrender”.

Under the provocation of some people, the general public put the blame on the incompetence of the government. If it were not for the government’s incompetence, the British Empire would not have lost the war; if it had not lost the war, there would not have been the present humiliation. ……

Mouth spraying, obviously can not vent the grievances in the hearts of the British public, must be demonstrated to send out their voices.

During the day the enemy’s planes may come over to bomb at any time, it is not suitable for shouting slogans and marching, then wait for the enemy planes to go away.

For example: dusk is safe.

It’s a little bit shorter, but it doesn’t matter, people can add a night shift and still make their voices heard with a flashlight.

“Defense of Britain!”

“Never surrender!”

“Down with the traitorous government!”

……

The cries were overwhelming and resounded through London. It’s a pain in the ass for ordinary citizens, who still have to work during the day?
Closing the window with both hands, James complained bitterly, “How long is this going to go on, and will people still be allowed to sleep.”

Obviously, as an ordinary citizen, James was not interested in the farce outside.

He didn’t understand the big truths, but one thing he was clear about was that if the war didn’t end, his own family was about to be starved to death.

Since the outbreak of the war began, the prices of goods in London had rubbed upwards, and the only thing that didn’t move was wages.

Originally still able to live well James family, soon fell into the state of not being able to make ends meet, can only rely on the previous savings struggling to support.

The standard of living naturally fell again and again, and the former bread, milk, vegetables, and beef …… had now become black bread, potatoes, and corn ……

Especially after the London government adopted a limited supply of supplies, the James family was forced to purchase purchased supplies from the black market to ensure the family’s ration consumption.

There is no way, bureaucrats that creatures all over the world are the same, using the power in their hands to profit from it, naturally, is inevitable.

Compared to three meals a day, hegemony and colonies are really too far away from James. Even Ireland, which was close at hand, James didn’t care.

“Stop complaining, it’s not like you can control them. Hurry up and pack for bed, you have to go to work tomorrow!”

James’ face grew harder at his wife’s words, “I’m sorry, Emma. Made you suffer with me.”

Emma, as the mistress of the house, shook her head, “What’s the point of saying that, James you’ve done well enough.

The current predicament is mainly because of this damn war. If it wasn’t for this war, our lives would still be happy and fulfilling.”

As the world’s hegemon, the British people enjoyed not only glory, but also tangible benefits.

Compared to the countries of the world during the same period, this year’s Britain was a proper developed country, and the living standard of the people was top in the world.

However, all of this went up in smoke with the outbreak of the war. Even those with good families were able to fill their stomachs, while many others were still starving, relying on government food aid to hang on to their breath.

James physically and mentally exhausted said: “Tomorrow I do not have to work, the factory has run out of raw materials.

The boss is trying to find a way, but now the whole of England is short of raw materials. I’m afraid I’m going to be unemployed for a long time to come.”

“Unemployment”, this is a heavy topic. Especially in recent months, but anyone who was unemployed basically couldn’t find a job.

With the import and export trade cut off and orders from enterprises drastically reduced, layoffs have become the mainstream of society.

James’s factory is responsible for the production of aircraft parts, barely considered a military enterprise, not only did not suffer from the impact of the war, on the contrary, in the war has become more prosperous.

Unfortunately, more orders, but also can not resist the “raw material shortage”. Britain now has no perfect labor protection law, no raw materials to start work, the capitalists will lay off employees in minutes.

To be precise, James was not exactly laid off. As a minor engineer, he was still relatively valuable during the war years. The corporate management just kept him at home for a while, waiting for news.

Unfortunately, this waiting was not “paid”. If the company was late in obtaining the raw materials to start work again, James would have been laid off.

The loss of an income would be an added burden for the family, which is already not well off.

If James is unable to find a job in the near future, it will not be long before they face problems in making ends meet.

The James family is not so bad, the war has been going on so far, the whole British Empire has more than two million families bankrupt, only to rely on the government relief food to survive.

Against this background, it was difficult for the civil society not to raise its voice against the war.

……

So much for the clamor. Along with dwindling reserves, the British simply had no choice.

The King was unwilling to take responsibility for the surrender, the government was unwilling to take responsibility for the surrender, and Parliament was equally unwilling to take the blame.

After a war of words, the parliamentarians, deeply committed to their responsibility, agreed that the future of Britain could only be decided by all the people together, and they unanimously decided to have a referendum to decide on war and peace.

On December 11, 1905, the British government proposed a one-week truce to the Continental Congress, with a referendum to decide whether to continue the war.

Looking at the telegrams reproduced, Franz realized that the British really knew how to play the game. In normal times, they could not think of the whole nation, but when they took responsibility, they wanted a referendum.

Looking at the military map, Franz asked, “How much longer can the food reserves of the British Isles be supported?”

Prime Minister Chandler: “According to the analysis of the intelligence we have collected, the British food reserves will not exceed three months at the longest, and the shortest may be less than a month.

The reaction of the British government now corroborates this. If they weren’t cornered, the British wouldn’t be holding a referendum at this time.”

The biggest reason why the Continental Alliance didn’t rush to launch a landing operation was that the British Isles didn’t have enough food reserves.

It wasn’t that the British government didn’t want to increase its food reserves, it was really that the war broke out so suddenly that there was no time to procure enough food.

It was not a question of money, but simply could not be bought.

The Holy Roman Empire itself is the banker in the international grain market, monopolizing more than eighty percent of the international market trade in agricultural products. At the same time, it was also the largest supplier of agricultural products in Britain.

The big bookmakers do not sell grain, the British government can only go overseas to buy. Whether or not you can buy enough food, let alone, light transportation is a big problem.

Submarine attacks are just child’s play, the key is that most of the countries in the world have joined the blockade against Britain, and overseas trade routes are nearly interrupted.

Relying on relying on colonies alone was clearly not enough to meet the demand. In particular, the two food-producing regions of the Central and Southern Peninsula and India were successively turned into battlefields, which was a heavy blow.

Since the enemy can be starved to death, the Continental Union is naturally not in a hurry to land, around only a few months, we can still afford to wait.

Sliding the globe, Franz said with a smile: ”Tell the British, out of humanitarian considerations, we are willing to leave them a week to conduct a referendum.

But there’s only one chance, and if we don’t get the result we want, then not a single grain will flow into England for the next ten years.”

There is no greater sorrow for the island nation. With just a naval blockade, the bullish British Empire is on the verge of collapse.

Let alone a blockade for ten years, as long as the blockade lasts for another year and a half, I am afraid that the British Empire will become history.

……

On December 12, 1905, Britain kicked off a referendum. Under the oppressive atmosphere, countless British people came out of their homes to cast their sacred votes at the polling places.

Unlike previous votes, there were no impassioned speeches, no huge advertising banners, just a simple ballot box, and soldiers to keep order.

The scene was eerily quiet, as if in a spiritual hall. Only the sound of footsteps and heartbeats, do not dare to raise their voices for fear of disturbing the dead.

(End of chapter)